After the Flight 752 disaster killed his colleague’s wife and 11-year-old son, Michael McCain, chief executive of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., took to Twitter on Sunday night to admonish the Trump administration for escalating tensions with Iran.

“I am very angry, and time isn’t making me less angry,” McCain wrote on Maple Leaf Foods’ official Twitter account. “A MLF colleague of mine lost his wife and family this week to a needless, irresponsible series of events in Iran.”

McCain is at the helm of a major Canadian meat processing empire, with 12,500 employees and production facilities in Canada and the U.S., including a planned US$310-million plant-based protein plant in Indiana.

We are mourning and I am livid
Michael McCain, chief executive of Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Maple Leaf spokesperson Janet Riley said McCain “gave great thought” to his remarks. “He asked us to post it and we did,” she said. Though Maple Leaf hasn’t released details on the staff who lost his family in the crash, Riley confirmed that McCain knew him personally.

Without ever naming Donald Trump — referring to him instead “a narcissist in Washington” — McCain criticized the president’s abandonment of the Iran nuclear agreement and the recent U.S. killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

Iran retaliated with missile strikes on U.S. military positions in Iraq, then hours later, Iran fired on Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, killing all 176 on board, the majority of them en route to Canada via Kiev. After initially denying any involvement, Iran admitted on Friday to shooting down the plane, calling it a “disastrous mistake” caused by human error. Iran said the air defences were fired in error while on alert after the missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday told a vigil for some of those killed in the disaster that he would “pursue justice and accountability” for what happened. Iran said its air defences were

“The collateral damage of this irresponsible, dangerous, ill-conceived behavior? 63 Canadians needlessly lost their lives in the crossfire,” McCain said. The Canadian government has since updated its figure to 57 Canadians killed.

“We are mourning and I am livid,” McCain wrote.

Maple Leaf Foods was trading down more than 2 per cent at $24.49 Monday morning.